Just in time for the playoffs, the Cubs have made one of their most significant trades of the season: Lagunitas IPA has replaced nearly 30 Goose Island draft handles throughout Wrigley Field.

While Goose Island beer remains available at the ballpark and is still carried by vendors through the aisles, the move to Lagunitas was a sudden and seismic shift at a stadium long known for its allegiance to Anheuser-Busch products.

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Goose Island, founded in Chicago in 1988, was sold to Anheuser-Busch in 2011. Lagunitas is owned by rival Heineken.

The change at Wrigley Field was oddly swift, according to multiple industry sources.

Just before the end of the Cubs' regular season, the ballpark's concession management partner, Levy Restaurants, ordered more than 100 kegs of Lagunitas IPA to have on tap within 48 hours, for the Sept. 29 game against the Cincinnati Reds. The beer replaced Goose Island's 312 Urban Wheat Ale and Green Line Pale Ale.

About 50 kegs of Lagunitas IPA sold briskly during the next three games, according to sources. The beer will remain on tap for the first home playoff game against the Washington Nationals on Monday afternoon. Such a radical change to a ballpark's food and drink lineup typically happens far more deliberately, and during the offseason.

In a statement, Levy Restaurants said it, "looked at the opportunity to try something new at Wrigley Field for the playoffs. Using data and guest insights to determine what appeals most to Cubs fans, we identified Lagunitas as a key brand. We added Lagunitas to 27 taps at select locations at the ballpark."

The Cubs did not respond to emailed questions, and Anheuser-Busch declined to comment.

Multiple sources confirmed details of the change on the condition of anonymity, due to what they described as a sensitive situation between some of the industry's biggest power brokers. Chicago-based Levy Restaurants handles concessions at nearly 200 arenas, stadiums, ballparks and convention centers from coast to coast; Anheuser-Busch is the subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's largest beer company.

Anheuser-Busch signed a lucrative, long-term marketing deal with the Cubs in 2013, replacing Old Style as the beer sponsor for one of the most recognizable sports teams in America. Wrigley Field has had a large Budweiser sign in right field ever since.

Though a marketing deal by law cannot equate to dominating a beer menu, that's usually the outcome, and such was the case at Wrigley Field. The ballpark has been long decried for its lack of beer choice (especially compared with the White Sox, which launched a menu of more than 75 craft beers in 2017); vendors at Wrigley Field carry only Anheuser-Busch products in the aisles — Budweiser, Bud Light and two Goose Island beers. Most of the concourse and the suites are similarly dominated by Anheuser-Busch products.

The move to Lagunitas began five days after the Alcohol Tax and Trade Bureau and Illinois Liquor Control Commission announced they were investigating "pay to play" schemes in Chicago, in which breweries and their distributors pay to get prominent and exclusive beer placement while keeping competitors at bay.

While sources indicated a rift between Anheuser-Busch and Levy could have played into the decision, in a follow-up statement, Levy said, "We have no conflict with Goose Island and Anheuser-Busch and value our relationship nationwide. We continue to offer Goose Island at many locations in Wrigley Field."

Levy did not respond to a query about the timing of the change with regard to the TTB investigation.

Lagunitas founder Tony Magee said he is not entirely sure why his beer is suddenly on tap at one of the nation's iconic ballparks but hopes it continues into next season. Levy had a pre-existing relationship with Lagunitas, which is on tap at many Levy-managed properties.